City man accused of threatening family members with knife

WOONSOCKET –A 72-year-old Fairmount man is in trouble after threatening members of his household with a knife, police say.

John J. Navaretta of 344 Second Ave., is charged with three counts of felony domestic assault and domestic disorderly conduct after police responded to his home shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25.

Officer William Strain reported that Navaretta was armed with a hunting knife when he answered the door. Strain said Navaretta was holding the weapon behind his back and didn’t drop it until the officer threatened to stun him with a Taser. That’s when Strain noticed Navaretta had a second knife tucked into the waistband of his pants.

According to police reports, Navaretta is accused of threatening to stab three people with whom he lives – a woman, 43 years old, a man, 42; and a male, 17. Mainly due to redactions performed by the police to protect the identity of victims, their relationship to Navaretta could not immediately be determined.

Police said the female victim had a small laceration on her hand, but she did not know if Navaretta had caused it with a knife or she had suffered the injury in some other fashion. She declined medical attention.

The victims told police that Navaretta threatened them after he came home drunk and began arguing with everyone.

Navaretta began yelling at the woman, “I’m going to kill you and everyone here,” she told Officer Strain.

Although Navaretta hasn’t been arrested since 2004, his criminal history includes several convictions for possession of a controlled substance, forgery, possession of counterfeit notes, possession of a hypodermic syringe and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the judiciary’s web site.

As of press time, there was no information available on the site regarding his bail status following his arraignment on the new charges, however. He was transported to Sixth District Court for an appearance before a judge on the morning of Feb. 26, police reports say.